The present invention relates to a package for artificial aquarium plants, and more particularly, to a semi-sealed plant package for especially effectively displaying artificial aquarium plants in retail stores.
Artificial aquarium plants are known which are made comprising a weighted plant base, a plurality of plant stems, and a variety of artificial leaves of various configurations and colors attached to the plant stems. These artificial aquarium plants are made of certain materials designed to appear to be especially real in an underwater environment in an aquarium. The texture of the leaves is rather unique. The most preferred artificial aquarium plants have fabric leaves. Because of the fabric construction, consumers strongly desire to feel the leaves, more so than if the leaves were of the more traditional molded plastic material. Additionally, these most preferred artificial aquarium plants are fuller and spread more than traditional molded plastic plants.
Various types of packages for displaying goods for retail sale are known. For goods of general fixed shapes, blister packages are known such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,450 to Fisher. For live plants, requiring a large volume of interior space and a secure holding structure for the roots and rooting medium, a plant package is known comprising a self-supporting sealed polymer shell having a large interior compartment for displaying and protecting the above ground portions of the plant being sold as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,605 to Angeles et al. A shape conforming transparent molded polymer package is known for face masks as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,629 to Goldberg.
Generally, artificial aquarium plants have been packaged by strapping the stems of the plant to one surface of a cardboard sheet using a wire tie, thereafter wrapping the sheet over the plant base leaving an opening through which the plant stems and leaves extend and gluing or otherwise adhering the folded over paper or cardboard to itself. The front and back surfaces of the paper or cardboard carry the indicia concerning the product while the artificial plant leaves extend upwardly out of the opening in the front face of the package.
These packages for artificial aquarium plants are subject to certain difficulties in that the lateral edges of the opening on the front face of the package tend to rip during transport and display. The plant base is not secured. The wire tie holding the plant stems permits vertical movement of the plant relative to the package which can result in the stem becoming damaged. Further, with the entire package being made of cardboard or paper, unsightly folds or wrinkles can occur during shipment leaving the overall package less desirable to a consumer. In addition, the opaque material forming the package covers and conceals the base of the plant, negating any decorative features that may be provided and making the plant less attractive to consumers.
As alternatives for packaging of aquarium plants, a regular blister pack is not readily workable. This is because the design of the blister pack and packaging of the same with the flexible, variable-orientation leaves is extremely time consuming and expensive. Further, the close confinement of the leaves of the artificial plants under the blister does not display the aquarium plant to its best advantage. This is especially difficult with respect to the fabric leafed artificial aquarium plants.
A large open interior polymer shell container such as those used for live plants would be possible. However, this would result in a very expensive, ungainly package. Specific shape conforming packages such as those used for face masks, for each of plural types would be extremely expensive. Further, the packing of the individual leaves would be time consuming and labor intensive. Further, in all of the cases of a conventional blister package or a polymer shell package or a shape conforming cover, the consumers would not be able to feel the texture of the leaves of the plants to determine if they were suitable.